prime element in AElfred, AElfric, AElfwine, AElfward, and AElfstan.  These were the favourite names of the West-Saxon royal house; the Northumbrian kings seem rather to have affected the syllable os, divine, as in Oswald, Oswiu, Osric, Osred, and Oslaf. Wine, friend, is a favourite termination found in AEscwine, Eadwine, AEthelwine, Oswine, and AElfwine, whose meanings need no further explanation. Wulf appears as the first half in Wulfstan, Wulfric, Wulfred, and Wulfhere; while it forms the second half in AEthelwulf, Eadwulf, Ealdwulf, and Cenwulf. Beorht, berht, or briht, bright, or glorious, appears in Beorhtric, Beorhtwulf, Brihtwald; AEthelberht, Ealdbriht, and Eadbyrht. Burh, a fortress, enters into many female names, as Eadburh, AEthelburh, Sexburh, and Wihtburh.  As a rule, a certain number of syllables seem to have been regarded as proper elements for forming personal names, and to have been combined somewhat fancifully, without much regard to the resulting meaning.  The following short list of such elements, in addition to the roots given above, will suffice to explain most of the names mentioned in this work.

Helm:  helmet. Gar:  spear. Gifu:  gift. Here:  army. Sige:  victory. Cyne:  royal. Leof:  dear. Wig:  war. Stan:  stone. Eald:  old, venerable. Weard, ward:  ward, protection. Red:  counsel. Eeg:  edge, sword. Theod:  people, nation.

By combining these elements with those already given most of the royal or noble names in use in early England were obtained.

With the people, however, it would seem that shorter and older forms were still in vogue.  The following document, the original of which is printed in Kemble’s collection, represents the pedigree of a serf, and is interesting, both as showing the sort of names in use among the servile class, and the care with which their family relationships were recorded, in order to preserve the rights of their lord.

Dudda was a boor at Hatfield, and he had three daughters:  one hight Deorwyn, the other Deorswith, the third Golde.  And Wulflaf at Hatfield has Deorwyn to wife.  AElfstan, at Tatchingworth, has Deorswith to wife:  and Ealhstan, AElfstan’s brother, has Golde to wife.  There was a man hight Hwita, bee-master at Hatfield, and he had a daughter Tate, mother of Wulfsige, the bowman; and Wulfsige’s sister Lulle has Hehstan to wife, at Walden.  Wifus and Dunne and Seoloce are inborn at Hatfield.  Duding, son of Wifus, lives at Walden; and Ceolmund, Dunne’s son, also sits at Walden; and AEthelheah, Seoloce’s son, also sits at Walden.  And Tate, Cenwold’s sister, Maeg has to wife at Welgun; and Eadhelm, Herethryth’s son, has Tate’s daughter to wife.  Waerlaf, Waerstan’s father, was a right serf at Hatfield; he kept the grey swine there.

In the west, and especially in Cornwall, the names